I am very excited to present May's Rattie Showcase! Today we interview Facebook famous fluffy fluff ball, Jasper and his human, Rebecca Cornford! I always wish to snuggle this teddy bear whenever I see his handsome face on my Facebook wall. In this interview, Rebecca will share with us the story of how they met and how she fell in love with rats. Without further to do, let us dive into the interview!
Jasper is so adorable, how did you two meet?
We first met in January 2015 when I went into a pet store that was run by my local breeder, Fugly Rats. Jasper was in the shop in a cage with some other rats (he wasn’t for sale, he was just for people to meet!). I fell in love with him straight away – he climbed onto my shoulder and I stroked his soft, fluffy fur. The breeder Sharon said she would be breeding him, so I asked to be put on the list for some of his babies. She responded that if I wanted, I could have Jasper’s dad Duke. Duke had just retired from breeding and Jasper was taking over.
And so I got Duke! He was the most wonderful rat I’ve ever met. He was my heart rat. He was the friendliest, loveliest rat in the world. I used to sleep with my face pressed into his fluffy fur.
At the beginning of October, Duke passed away. I went to the pet store to tell Sharon, and ask to be put on the list for some babies, so that I could have some of Duke’s descendants. She said that I could have Jasper if I wanted – he’d had one litter but had since refused to breed. Duke’s line was going to be continued through Duke’s daughter/Jasper’s sister Jasmin.
And so I got Jasper! But we didn’t get off to a good start. I expected him to be just like Duke, but things went very wrong. I got him home and the smell of my other rats (particularly my alpha boy Munch) sent Jasper into a hormonal rage. He bit me so many times! It wasn’t his fault though. I had him neutered, and over the next few months whilst his hormones were calming down we would often go and sit in the garden together – he was much calmer when he couldn’t smell Munch.
Gradually Jasper’s hormones dropped and he calmed down. Now he is just like his daddy Duke! He’s a wonderful cuddly boy and he would never bite me.
In February I decided that it was time to try to introduce him to other rats. I was worried that he’d still be aggressive but he’s been fantastic. I got some babies in March and I did very careful introductions, but he’s been so good. He now lives with 3 babies and he’s so happy. Since living with the babies, he’s more affectionate with me too.
